After some 100,000 netizens took part in the discussion and 51,442 valid votes were cast, the selections were: hybrid rice, laser typesetting for Chinese characters, synthesis of bovine insulin and the discovery of artemether, an anti-malarial drug made from the Chinese herb qinghao.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The one part of the Coartem, which is the artemether part, is derived from a plant in China that's been used for over 1,700 years, traditionally for the treatment of fever, and then for the treatment of malaria as well.

Although some new drugs have appeared in the last 20 years (e.g., mefloquine, halofantrine, artemisinin derivatives, malarone, atovaquone + proguanil, co-artemether), new (especially inexpensive and affordable) drugs and more practical formulations of existing drugs/compounds are badly needed.